On the morning of October 5th 2024, Water Watch Penang held a Training of Trainers (TOT) programme at the Penang Botanical Gardens to expand our network of water education facilitators. There were 14 participants in total, many of them lecturers, teachers or other educators of sorts. The programme started at 9 am and was concluded by noon. There was even a surprise participation by Mr. Khor Hung Teik, one of the founding members of Water Watch Penang, whose presence undoubtedly added much meaning and joy to our session. Each participant was provided with a training manual containing examples and slides that can be utilized for classroom and outdoor education.
Read more: Training of Trainers (TOT) Programme At Penang Botanical Gardens – 5th October 2024Our president and founder of Water Watch Penang, Prof. Dato’ Chan Ngai Weng, gave a thought-provoking speech about Water Watch Penang and the social and environmental issues he observed that inspired its founding. The participants listened intently, captivated by his stories. Our Executive Manager, Dr. Hong Chern Wern, based on the manual, then continued the session by briefing the participants on water-related issues and the importance of conserving water, opening their eyes to some aspects they might not have thought about before. He also talked about the various ways one can save water in their daily life, empowering participants to conserve water and contribute to the green cause.
Once Dr. Hong was done with the briefing, he let one of our trained facilitators, Mr. Aiman from Universiti Sains Malaysia, take over and help conduct the chemical assessment of river water. He led the participants down to the river and taught them how to conduct the chemical tests, parameter by parameter, by adding the relevant reagents and comparing against a colour chart. Many of the programme participants were surprised at how clean the river at the Botanical Gardens was.
Afterwards, our senior facilitator, Dr. Ong Ke Shin, helped conduct the biological assessment of the river water using bioindicators. She explained the different types of macroinvertebrates one could find in the river and the insights it could provide about the river quality. Using the analogy of a fussy eater indicating that a restaurant serves good food, she explained that some macroinvertebrates are more fastidious than others and can only thrive in clean, unpolluted waters. The participants took to the river, catching various macroinvertebrates such as dragonfly nymphs, freshwater shrimp and even a rare balloon-tailed damselfly nymph.
Once the macroinvertebrates sampled were collected, they were identified and assigned points based on The Freshwater Name Trail: A Guide to Freshwater Invertebrates of Ponds and Streams in Malaysia. The points totalled to an average of 6.5, which signified a very clean river. The captured macroinvertebrates were released back to the spots they were found, with some of the damselfly nymphs that were found under rocks placed back under them for shelter.
For more information, please contact us at info.waterwatchpenang@gmail.com or +6019-5751253.
